Interview With Newly Elected President Hassan

UN Integrated Regional Information Network, interview, 29 August
2000

Arta, Djibouti—Somalia’s newly elected president
Abdiqassim Salad Hassan talked to IRIN in Arta, Djibouti, where he is
staying temporarily in a government villa. Elected on 25
August—Somalia’s first head of state in 10
years—Hassan said he would appoint a prime minister and begin to
put together a government of national unity. In the first
interview since being sworn in as president on Sunday, he told IRIN he
would return home to the capital, Mogadishu, this week.

QUESTION: Now that you have been elected and sworn in, what is the
next step?

ANSWER: Well, I think the next step is to form the government. We will
nominate the prime minister and then we will form the government.

Q: And what sort of dilemmas are there in choosing a prime minister?

A: As in all the affairs of Somalia today, the dilemmas are many. On
this question we have to consult different parliamentary groups and we
have to see who is the right man. In a parliamentary democracy the
prime minister should have the majority of the parliament and its
confidence.

Q: How are you going to deal with the warlords?

A: Well, I’m not going to deal with the warlords actually,
I’ll be dealing with the people. I have every confidence in our
people. From what I know, there are demonstrations of support in many
parts of Somalia, especially in the south. There is no basis of
support for certain warlords in the south. In the north, the case is
different. So for the warlords, I think some will be ignored and
others we will have a dialogue with. Ultimately it will be the people
who will force them to change course—they cannot stand against
the will of the people, their own clan. Everybody is here (in Arta,
Djibouti)—including the sub-tribes, certain elements, certain
warlords in the south and their supporters. So I’m very
optimistic that it won’t be a problem. And I am going to
Mogadishu. Mogadishu is the capital of Somalia and I am the president
of Somalia.

Q: Will you go soon, or do the threats by the warlords concern you?

A: No, I don’t think there is any serious threat. We have been
under constant threat for the last ten years; but not because of the
warlords but because of the proliferation of weapons and youngsters on
the streets of Mogadishu. I don’t see any special threat and I
will go to Mogadishu as soon as possible.

A: I have no such alliance, and I don’t know them. I am Muslim
by faith; I have respect for other faiths, like Judaism and
Christianity. This is personal business. State affairs are state
affairs. Personal beliefs are personal beliefs. They are separate
elements. As for fundamentalism, I never support extremists. This is
what fundamentalism means. I am against extremism, whether it is
religious or ideological.

Q: You had a high profile in Mohamed Siad Barre’s
government. What was your relationship with him like?

A: I was a member of Siad Barre’s government. Let me state there
are, right now in Somalia, three generations. The first generation of
independence are largely dead or of a very old age. The second
generation is my generation, and practically everyone of my generation
had a role in twenty years of government. That was not Siad’s
government, it was the nation’s government. Siad was the
president, the man who was leading Somalia for 20 years. Everyone who
was in Somalia—intellectual or otherwise—served in one or
other capacity in that administration. Not necessarily as a minister,
but in any other capacity. So that generation is the generation who
can run the government now. And because of that they have been chosen
to be members of parliament; they have been chosen to be leaders of
parliament; and I have been chosen to be president. The third
generation is the generation of the 10 years (of civil war), who are
not in a position to lead. So, Mohamed Siad Barre’s era is in
the history of Somalia. I was part of that history—I was a
minister and involved in that. But one has to distinguish between
those who committed crimes and those who were against the crimes that
were committed. If the people of Somalia, through their
representatives, knew that I was a criminal, or misbehaved or
misappropriated funds, they would not have chosen me as president. So
I am confident it is not a black spot, either for me or anybody else
who served when Mohamed Siad Barre was there. But if there were some
who committed crimes, they have to face justice.

Q: How?

A: I am the president of Somalia. There is a law, there is a
charter. The law of the charter will apply to everybody who committed
a crime under Siad Barre or after.

Q: What do you think the biggest obstacle is now to forming a
government of national unity?

A: I don’t see any such big obstacle. We have to consult with
different groups, parliamentary groups, so that we come to a decision
over who is the best to serve as prime minister. Of course we have to
look at the country in its different geographical positions and clan
composition, and what will best compliment the government—who
should be hired, or at least participate in it.

Q: What role do you see the donors and international aid agencies
taking now?

A: I think the new government of Somalia will establish certain
principles and rules for the donors and international agencies. And
according to this, everyone who wants to help Somalia will follow
those rules. In the last 10 years in the country, there was, according
to my knowledge and understanding, a lot of chaos in this
international assistance. We have to maximise the usefulness of that
assistance to the Somali people. In order to do that, we have to have
a mechanism.

Q: After you were elected on Friday night, when you were finally
alone, what was most on your mind?

A: (pause) The heavy responsibility on my shoulders, was on my
mind. The practically nearly impossible task in front of me was on my
mind. The cooperation of the Somali people everywhere—whom I
need in order to succeed—was on my mind. These, and other
considerations, were on my mind. They still are.